Wrench



A. IVI. lSHENK AND A. AND L. SALTZER. WRENCH.

APPLlcATloN man 1AN.3.1921.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

UNITED sra'rss Partnr OFFICE.

ADOLPHUS M. SHENK, ANDREW SALTZER, AND LOUIS SALTZER, OF CALEXICO, CALI- FORNIA; SAID ANDREW SALTZER AND SAID LOUIS SALTZER ASSIGNORS OF ONE- SIX'IH 0F THE ENTIRE RIGHT T0 SAD SHENK.

WRENCH.

Application lel January 3, 1921.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, ADoLrHUs M. SHENK, ANDREW SAI/rana, and Louis SALTZER, citizens of the United States, residing at CaleXico, in the county of Imperial and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vrenches, of which the following is a specification.

Cuir invention relates to new and useful improvements in wrenches and particularly that type of wrench having one fixed and one movable jaw, the principal objects of our invention being to generally improve upon and simplify the construction of existing types of wrenches, to provide a wrench having a movable jaw that can be easily and quickly shifted from one position to another; further7 to provide simply and easily operated means for locking the movable jaw to the body or shank of the wrench, and, further, to provide a wrench that possesses superior advantages in point of simplicity, durability and etlieiency.

Vith the foregoing and other objects in View, our invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described land claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a wrench constructed in accordance with our invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the wrench.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken approXimately on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 4.-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section taken approximately on the line 5--5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a practical embodiment of our invention, 10 designates the shank or body of the wrench the saine being preferably formed of a straight metal bar and provided at one end with an integrallyv formed jaw 11. The front face of the shank 10 immediately beneath the jaw 11 is provided with a series of transversely disposed teeth 12 and arranged to slide :freely on the shank 10 over this toothed Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

Serial No. 434,700.

portion is a sleeve 13 that is substantially square or rectangular in cross section.

Proj ect-ing outwardly from the upper portions of the side walls of this sleeve are ears 141 in which are seated the ends of a transverse pin 15, and pivotally mounted thereupon is a block 16 with the upper end of which is formed integrally a jaw 17. The lower portion of the rear of the inner face of block 16 is provided with teeth 1S that are adapted to engage the teeth 12 on shank 10 to retain the sleeve 13 and block 17 in differently adjusted positions.

Formed in the inner face of one of the ears 14 around and extending downwardly from the pin 15 is a recess 19, and positioned therein and suspended upon said pin 15 is an inverted U-shaped spring 20, the outer leg` of which is extended downwardly to form a resilient arm 21, and the end of the latter is bent laterally, as designated by 22 so as to bear against the lower portion of the outer face of block 16. This spring is relatively small in size, but its tension is suiiicient to swing the block 16 upon its pivot pin and move the teeth 18 on the rear face of saidbleek into engagement with the teeth 12 on shank 10. To retain block 16 in locking engagement with shank 10, we utilize a keeper in the form of a thin, flat plate 23, the same being arranged for sliding movement beneath lips 24 that are bent inwardly toward each other from the lower portions of the side walls of sleeve 13, and the upper end of said sliding plate is bent outwardly, as designated by 25, inorder to over-lie the adjacent lower end of block 16.

For the purpose of readily manipulating the keeper 23, a disk such as 26 is secured to the power portion of said keeper and overlies the lips 24k, the outer face of said disk being corrugated or knurled in order that it may be firmly engaged by the thumb or finger Vduring manipulation.

Pins or lugs 27 project outwardly from the lower portions of the lips 24% and serve as stops to limit the downward movement of the keeper 23 and disk 26. Under normal conditions or while the movable jaw 17 and sleeve 13 are locked in their adjusted positions tothe shank 10, the teeth 18 on the inner face of block 16 interengage with certain of the teeth 12 on the shank 10, and

the keeper 23 is positioned at its upper limit of movement, as illustrated in F ig. 4f, to lock the block 16 and parts associated therewith in their adjusted positions.

To Yrelease the block for the purpose of readj usting` the jaw 17 toward or away from fixed jaw 11, disk 26 is engaged and moved downwardly, thereby disengaging the upper end of keeper 23 from the lower portion of block 16, and upward pressure is now applied to the under side of jaw 17 to swing the same and the block 16 upon the fulcrum formed by pin 15, with the result that the lower portion of said block is moved away from the shank, thereby disengaging teeth 18 from teeth 12, and with the parts so positioned, the sleeve, sliding jaw and block may be shifted lengthwise of the shank toward or away from liXed jaw 11.

When pressure against the under side of jaw 17 is removed, spring 21 will act to throw the toothed lower `portion of said block into engagement with the toothed portion of shank 10, and the parts can be locked in such position by sliding keeper 23 upwardly so as to engage over the lower end of the block.

A wrench of our improved construction is comparatively simple, can be easily and quickly adjusted, and provides a strong, durable and serviceable implement.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of our improved wrench may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A wrench having a shank and a jawV iXed on one end thereof, a sleeve arranged tor sliding movement on said shank, a jaw pivotally mounted on said sleeve and having a portion that is adapted to interlock with parts of the shank, means for yieldably urging pivotal movement of said jaw relative to said sleeve, to cause interlocking of the jaw and shank, and a keeper carried by the sleeve and adapted to retain the j aw in interlocking engagement with said shank.

2. A wrench having a shank and a jaw IiXed on one end thereof, said shank having a toothed portion, a sleeve arranged for sliding movement on the shank, a block pivotally mounted on'said sleeve and provided with teeth that are adapted toengage the teeth on the shank, a jaw fixed to said block, a spring yieldably urging pivotal movement of said block relative to Said sleeve for non mally retaining the teeth ot the block in engag-ement with the teeth on the shank, and a keeper for locking the block in engagement with the shank.

3. A wrench having a shank and a jaw fixed on one end thereof7 a sleeve arranged for sliding movement on the shank, a block pivotally mounted 0n the sleeve, and one face of which block is toothed in order to engage a toothed surface on the shank, a jaw carried by said block, means for yieldably urging pivotalmovement ot' said block, to cause engagement of the block and shank, and a keeper adapted to engage the power portion of the block and retain the same in locking engagement with the shank.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this speciication.

ADOLPHUS M. SHENK. ANDREW SALTZER. LOUIS SALTZER; 

